Assistant Professor or Associate Professor, Director of Bands
College of Fine Arts and Communication
Department of Music
COFAC-3811
Position:
Director of Bands, teacher of conducting courses. Assistant Professor or Associate Professor, tenure-track, 9-month faculty appointment beginning August 2025. The successful candidate will be a highly accomplished pedagogue, musical artist, energetic and inspiring leader, recruiter within and outside Towson University, and collaborative colleague. Compensated summer teaching is possible.
Qualifications:
Completed DMA (or equivalent degree) in Wind or Symphonic Band conducting or a doctorate degree in which concert band conducting is a central component. Demonstrated success as a band conductor, teacher, and recruiter with at least two years of teaching experience at the college/university level. Evidence of work in team situations.
Responsibilities:
Conduct, coordinate, and administer Towson University concert bands. Regional recruiting of qualified students. Develop and sustain strong relationships with the local, regional, and national band community through school visits, workshop presentations, and guest conducting. Engage in scholarship/creative activity and service, including supervision of student workers associated with the band and instruments. Additional duties commensurate with qualifications may include teaching assignments in music education, conducting courses, ensembles, applied conducting, studio, and/or classroom teaching.
Department of Music: www.towson.edu/music
The Department of Music is one of seven departments within the College of Fine Arts and Communication serving approximately 300 majors within the degrees of Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science in Music Education, Bachelor of Science in Music, Master in Music, Master of Music in Pedagogy, Master of Science in Music Education and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Music as well as minors in Music and Music Industry. Additionally, the Department serves countless non-majors in courses, ensembles, and applied lessons. The TU Wind Ensemble is an auditioned ensemble of approximately 65-70 students, including majors and non-majors. The TU Symphonic Band is a non-auditioned ensemble, which serves majors and many non-majors, many of whom are members of the TU Marching Band or from the local community. A robust TU Alumni Wind Symphony also exists made up of many TU alumni who are music educators in Maryland. Other instrumental ensembles include the TU Orchestra, TU Jazz Orchestra, TU Chorale, Treble and Men’s Choirs, Percussion Ensemble, Music for the Stage (Opera) and Children’s Opera Outreach Ensemble, World Music Ensembles, Early Music Ensemble, Jazz Vocal Ensemble, Pop Ensemble, Latin Ensemble, and a variety of other chamber and jazz/commercial ensembles. The Department has an active and vibrant studio of composers and music technology students as well. The Department produces over 200 events annually in its Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall (500 seats), Center for the Arts Recital Hall (160 seats), or Stephens Hall Theatre (700-seat proscenium theater with orchestra pit) as well as through outreach concerts and presentations at regional festivals and conferences. Numerous programs within the Department of Music are also funded through robust philanthropic support managed by the Towson University Foundation. The Department of Music is recognized within the State and region as a top producer of music educators boasting a nearly 100% placement rate of its graduates in music education over the past ten years. Consistently, our alumni become professional performers at the national and international levels, respected educators in K-12 schools and university settings, commercial and jazz music artists, entrepreneurs, and arts administrators serving the public good within and outside of Maryland.
Towson University:
Towson University (www.towson.edu) was founded in 1866, is recognized by U.S. News and World Reports as one of the top public universities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, is Baltimore’s largest university, and is the largest public, comprehensive institution in the University of Maryland System. TU enrolls almost 19,000 undergraduates and over 3,000 graduate students across six academic colleges (business, education, fine arts, health professions, liberal arts, science & mathematics), has over 865 full-time faculty, and offers more than 65 bachelor’s, 45 master’s, and 5 doctoral programs. Our centrally located campus sits on 330 rolling acres and is 10 miles north of Baltimore, 45 miles north of Washington D.C., and 95 miles south of Philadelphia.
Application Process:
The deadline to submit an application is October 7, 2024. Applications received by the deadline are reviewed immediately and the position remains open until filled. Only digital applications will be accepted, and an individual Dropbox folder will be supplied to each applicant. A complete digital application includes: A letter of application that addresses the applicant’s qualifications and ability to fulfill the responsibilities of the position as articulated in this job notice, including a secondary area of expertise; The candidate’s current curriculum vitae, including names and contact information for at least three references; A separate teaching philosophy, which must include how the candidate addresses diverse and inclusive pedagogy within the rehearsal setting and classroom; Unofficial transcripts from all institutions of higher education attended;
A sample video of no more than 25 minutes. The video is in two parts: 1) A sample or samples of a rehearsal with a concert band (no marching or athletic bands).2) A sample or samples of a concert band (no marching or athletic bands) in performance. The video must clearly show the conductor in facial view with as much of the ensemble as possible. Video submissions must be via streamable and functioning web links that do not require an account/login/password to access. Should the candidate wish to direct reviewers to their personal website, please include instructions regarding which sections (with links) on the website should be reviewed to account for the 25 minutes of material.
Optional: A short video example of teaching something other than concert band, i.e., conducting, applied lessons, or other areas as articulated in this job announcement. Do not send any videos that include minors without appropriate release forms.
Additional material(s) may be requested later.
Address questions and the request for the Dropbox folder for the application to:
Dr. Terry Ewell, Director of Bands Search Chair
Department of Music
Towson University
8000 York Road
Towson, MD 21252
Email: tewell@towson.edu (preferred contact method)
Phone: 410-704-2824
Click here to apply. Please note that the search number for which you have applied is COFAC-3811.
A Criminal Background Investigation is required for the hired candidate and the results may impact employment.
The safety of our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors has been our top priority and the focus of every one of our decisions since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the University System of Maryland (USM) has strongly encouraged full COVID vaccination and up-to-date booster shots (when eligible) for all faculty, staff, and students at all schools in the USM as both a reasonable and necessary means of protecting our health and safety.
Please be sure to visit the Applicant Data Form to complete a voluntary on-line form. All data collected are for internal, state, and/or federal reporting and will not be used for other purposes.
Towson University is an equal opportunity employer and has a strong institutional commitment to diversity, as detailed in “A More Inclusive TU: Advancing Equity and Diversity (2020 – 25).” TU is a national leader in inclusive excellence, the only institution in Maryland with zero achievement gap, and 68% growth in minority enrollment over the past 5 years. We encourage applications from a variety of (dis)abilities, cultural, ethnic, race, sex, gender identity/expressions, national origins, ages, veteran status, color, religious, socio-economic, sexual orientations and belief background.
